| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs: There were two or three more bad places, but for the most part
it was an easy descent, and we came to the highest of the
Band-lu caves without further trouble. Here we went more
slowly, lest we should be set upon by some member of the tribe.
We must have passed about half the Band-lu cave-levels before
we were accosted, and then a huge fellow stepped out in front
of me, barring our further progress.
"Who are you?" he asked; and he recognized me and I him, for he
had been one of those who had led me back into the cave and
bound me the night that I had been captured. From me his gaze
went to Ajor. He was a fine-looking man with clear, intelligent
The People That Time Forgot |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac: such things as might be most pleasing to the eye, as if it were a shop
front, or such as by their color might give the effect of a kind of
official poetry, he stood for a minute in the midst of the labyrinth
of papers piled in some places even on the floor, admired his
handiwork, jerked his head, and went.
The anxious sinecure-holder did not share his retainer's favorable
opinion. Before seating himself in his deep chair, whose rounded back
screened him from draughts, he looked round him doubtfully, examined
his dressing-gown with a hostile expression, shook off a few grains of
snuff, carefully wiped his nose, arranged the tongs and shovel, made
the fire, pulled up the heels of his slippers, pulled out his little
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| The third excerpt represents the element of Water. It speaks of pure spiritual influences and feelings of love, and is drawn from Salome by Oscar Wilde: UN JUIF. Cela, c'est impossible. Personne n'a vu Dieu depuis le
prophete Elie. Lui c'est le dernier qui ait vu Dieu. En ce temps-
ci, Dieu ne se montre pas. Il se cache. Et par consequent il y a
de grands malheurs dans le pays.
UN AUTRE JUIF. Enfin, on ne sait pas si le prophete Elie a
reellement vu Dieu. C'etait plutot l'ombre de Dieu qu'il a vue.
UN TROISIEME JUIF. Dieu ne se cache jamais. Il se montre toujours
et dans toute chose. Dieu est dans le mal comme dans le bien.
UN QUATRIEME JUIF. Il ne faut pas dire cela. C'est une idee tres
dangereuse. C'est une idee qui vient des ecoles d'Alexandrie ou on
enseigne la philosophie grecque. Et les Grecs sont des gentils.
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The fourth excerpt represents the element of Earth. It speaks of physical influences and the impact of the unseen on the visible world, and is drawn from The Crisis in Russia by Arthur Ransome: attacks it from outside. Lenin, talking to me about the
general attitude of the peasants, said: "Hegel wrote 'What is
the People? The people is that part of the nation which does
not know what it wants.' That is a good description of
the Russian peasantry at the present time, and it applies
equally well to your Arthur Hendersons and Sidney Webbs
in England, and to all other people like yourself who want
incompatible things. The peasantry are individualists, but
they support us. We have, in some degree, to thank Kolchak
and Denikin for that. They are in favor of the Soviet
Government, but hanker after Free Trade, not understanding
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